


Inkopolis Cafe

by fruitycat, Saliod



Category: Splatoon, Splatoon 2
Genre: Café, Coffee Shop, Gen, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-27 11:33:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13879986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fruitycat/pseuds/fruitycat, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saliod/pseuds/Saliod
Summary: Who runs that cute little cafe in Inkopolis plaza? Besides the jellyfish, this is the crew that keeps the place running fresh!





	1. Chapter 1

Omura awoke with a start. Her alarm had been going off for at least 10 minutes at this point, and in her sleepy state, she missed it. Upon realizing this, Omura rubbed her eyes and jumped out of bed in a hurry.

“I can’t be late on my first daaay!” she yelled, running out of her cramped bedroom into the kitchen, where her older brother, Kobi, was already eating breakfast.

“What’s the rush?” he asked, looking up from his coffee at the hurried girl.

“Don’t tell me you forgot already,” she huffed, “I have work today!”

“Ah, that’s right. You got that new cafe job, right?”

“Yup!” Omura said proudly, puffing out her chest. Her brother ruffled her tentacles fondly.

“That’s great! I thought you didn’t have to be there until later, though. No big rush.”

“I guess,” she sighed, puffing out her cheeks in disappointment before perking up once again, “But what is it you always say to me? Better safe than sorry!” Kobi grinned at his younger sister’s good memory.

“Atta girl. Now, come get some breakfast.”

Pleased with herself, Omura plopped down into a chair beside her big brother and began pouring herself some cereal and milk. She dug in, eating quickly but still making sure to save the jelly marshmallows for last. Looking up at Kobi through a mouthful, she grinned.

“Can I have some of your coffee?” she asked hopefully. Kobi only pulled his cup away with a smirk and took a sip for himself.

“No way, caffeine’s only for grownups. No babies allowed,” he said coolly, though it was clear he was joking from the teasing glint in his eye.

“I am grown up! I’m going to _work_ today, just like you do!” Omura whined. Finally, her brother gave in, and slid his mug over to her.

“One sip.”

Satisfied, Omura took the cup in two hands and took a big gulp. It was overwhelmingly hot, and most of all...

“P-Pweh!!” she spat, “It’s bitter!” Kobi laughed and laughed.

“What do you think?” he asked from behind an uncharacteristically devilish smirk.

“I-I don’t think I want to be a grownup...”

“Aw, come on. Don’t say that! What do you say we get ready for work together?”

This seemed to instantly replenish Omura’s mood, as the two headed off to continue their morning routine.

Let’s get one thing straight. Omura was an octoling. And naturally, her brother was too. Although octolings had been introduced to the inkling world recently, and most people were accepting, there were still many bad apples ruining the bunch. When first moving to Inkopolis, years ago, Omura and Kobi got their fair share of nasty looks from less than welcoming inklings. This wasn’t the life Kobi wanted for his sister at all. So, he protected her in the best way he knew how: by disguising their octoling identity.

“Look up, please,” Kobi instructed, holding the black eyeliner marker near her bottom eyelid. Omura obeyed, giggling as his hand tickled her face accidentally. Kobi made quick work, being used to this pattern by now. He drew a final line connecting the eyes and forming a pretty convincing inkling “mask” pattern. Omura inspected it in the mirror with a grin.

“Can you draw me some eyelashes today, Kobi?” she asked sweetly.

“Ooh, feeling fancy?”

“I gotta make a good first impression!” she announced, and Kobi didn’t need any more convincing than that. The two helped eachother with their makeup, and once finished, Kobi tucked his tentacles under his usual beanie hat. He attempted to help Omura with her hair, too, but she insisted on doing it herself. She tied her tentacles up in a conveniently placed bow just tight enough to hide her octo suction cups. Smiling at her work, she twirled around, grinning back at her reflection in the mirror.

“How do I look?” she giggled.

“Ready for anything,” Kobi replied.

Finally, the two were ready to leave their little home and enter the new world. Omura waved her brother off as they went their separate ways. He turned a corner, and suddenly she was on her own, and a new wave of excitement washed over her. How mature was this? She was on her own! She felt like a new octo- er, inkling, ready to take on the world! She giggled as she skipped through the plaza, so caught up in her little daydream that she didn’t even notice the twitchy inkling boy who walked in front of her-

With a crash, Omura was sent stumbling backwards, and the inkling boy dropped the stack of heavy books he had been holding a second prior. He groaned and hurriedly dropped to his knees, attempting to recollect his things as quick as possible..

“Oh, oh my gosh! I’m suuuper sorry!!” Omura attempted, scrambling to help him pick up the books among other things. The inkling boy got back to his feet with a stressed sigh, books in hand. Omura plopped the last book on top of the pile, and he stumbled under the added weight.

“I-It’s okay, just... ugh,” he groaned, “I’d better not be late for work from this.”

“Hm? Where do you work?” Omura asked. Another inkling who was already working! She should keep her eyes out for more opportunities.

“Just at that cafe down the street. S’not exactly the most well paying job, but it’s got a nice crew. Maybe you could stop in and gimme a tip some time, I could use the cash,” he said quickly, slurring a few words together as he spoke. Omura, on the other hand, could barely contain her squeal of excitement.

“Hey, really? Because I was _just_ going to start working there today!” she said, practically bouncing on the backs of her feet. The boy backed up a few feet in surprise.

“Huh, so this is who answered that ‘help wanted’ call. Might as well introduce myself, then. I’m Hector.” He held out his hand the best he could while still keeping hold of all his books. Omura took it excitedly, shaking his hand with a force that could almost shake his whole body.

“Omura! It’s a pleasure to work with you, captain!” she said with a salute.

“Whoa whoa, where’d this ‘captain’ thing come from all of a sudden? Well whatever. I’ll show you where to go.”

The inkling and the “inkling” arrived at the cafe with hardly time to spare.

“There you are!” a two-toned inkling girl scolded as they finally came through the door, though she sounded more relieved than angry. Her eyes quickly shifted from Hector to meet Omura’s.

“Oh, who might this be?” the girl continued, coming around the counter to get a closer look. She had long bangs that nearly covered her eyes, and elastic tentacles that bounced when she walked. Omura found herself briefly hypnotized before the girl spoke again. “Forgive me if I’m wrong, but would you be Omura?”

“Yup! At your service,” Omura said, stumbling over her words a bit from being in unfamiliar surroundings. Without warning, the girl’s entire face lit up, and Omura found herself pulled into a gentle hug.

“Oh, I’m so glad to finally have another girl around here! Ever since my sister got that job at Starfish Mainstage, I’ve been all on my-“ The girl suddenly cut herself off and backed away. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me. My name is Sandy. I am, um... grateful for your help.” Omura squeaked, a bit shaken up about the whole thing.

Out of another room came two other creatures; a tiny, bored-looking jellyfish and a tall, lanky sea urchin. Hector wordlessly scurried off to the room from which they came, probably to put away his books. Sandy noticed the other two’s entrance and wasted no time introducing them to their newest worker.

“Oh, you two! This is Omura, and she’s going to be helping us out from here on out. Say hello!”

The jellyfish was the first to speak. The little guy had to crane his neck to look Omura in the eye, but when he got her attention, he spoke two simple words-

“It’s Jelfry.”

“U-Uhm... hi, Jelfry,” Omura said with a certain shake in her voice.

“Pleased meet.”

Omura had to stop for a moment to piece together what the jellyfish was trying to say. In a flash, she got it, and shot the little guy a wave.

“Pleased to meet you, too!”

“Don’t mind him, Omura,” Sandy began to explain, “Jelfry isn’t quite used to inkling language just yet. He learned from watching TV, so while he can understand what we’re saying just fine, he has trouble piecing together his own sentences.” Jelfry nodded in the background. “He’s not trying to be rude, of course! Or is he? We can’t really tell. Just don’t pay him any mind if he says something weird!”

Jelfry nodded, and even without a mouth, Omura could tell he was smug. The lanky urchin was the next to speak.

“‘Ey. The name’s Mick. I like to think I’m the one responsible for this cafe’s chill vibe,” he said, his deep voice so painfully layed-back that Omura swore she could melt just from the sound of it. “You need anything, I’m your dude. I can already tell you’re gonna fit right in here, ladybro.”

Ladybro? Was this guy for real? And when did he start leaning against the counter?

Sandy sighed, “That’s Mick for you. Sometimes I’m not quite sure why he even works here, but I don’t judge.” Mick flashed them a peace sign before returning with Jelfry to the other room.

Omura was beginning to get more excited than ever before. A new group of faces, coworkers, and potential friends, and a job that was totally grown up. What more could she ask for?

“Oh, we’re not quite ready to open yet,” Sandy offered, returning to her place behind the counter. “How about you help me get set up?”

Omura, a brand new skip in her step, wasted no time following Sandy’s lead.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a more 1 on 1 look at each of the characters!  
> this was written by my friend and edited by me, he’s still waiting for an ao3 invite boooo  
> anyway, enjoy!

The door to the back room opened up as Sandy entered the room, with an eager Omura almost hopping behind her.

“This is our little kitchen,” Sandy said as the two entered the room, “We don’t really do much cooking, but it’s here if we need it.”

Omura was staring at every little thing in the room. While there were things she recognized, there were things that she had never seen before from her old home in Octo Canyon. Sandy paid no mind to the new employee’s excitement, and moved on with the tour.

She opened a smaller door. “This is our storage room.” Omura took a peek in the room, seeing all of the food inside of it. “Everything making sense so far?” she asked. Omura was about to nod, but saw another door behind Sandy. “What’s behind that door?”

Sandy turned around. “Oh, that door? It’s our little break room. But we don’t have much time, we’re opening in five minutes.” Omura listened, following right behind Sandy. “I’ll help you out on your first shift, so you got nothing to worry about.”

The two entered back into the main cafe. Mick was sitting on a stool in front of the counter, while Jelfry was cleaning tables.  
  
“So, what do you want me to do?” Omura asked, looking to the other girl for direction.

“It’s easy,” she said gently, sensing the new kid’s nerves. “You just have to take orders from customers. Just write ‘em down. I’ll do an example one with you, just to show you where to get everything, so don’t worry.” Omura, on the other hand, was struggling to find what to say. Sandy noticed.

“Hey,” the inkling said sweetly, giving a small smile, “Trust me on this, you’ll be fine! I was nervous my first day, too.” Omura smiled back.

“You're right, I can do this!”

“That's the spirit!” The inkling chirped back, before her expression suddenly changed. “Oh!” she exclaimed, “I almost forgot.” She reached into her shirt pocket, pulling out a marker and a small card. “Here you go, your name tag! Can't forget something simple as that!” Omura pulled the lid off the black marker and laughed.

“You’re right, it's important for people to get to know me!” Sandy stifled a giggle. The new employee’s smile was totally contagious. Omura promptly wrote her name on the tag, adding little sparkles and designs around the edges. The two girls were then interrupted by Jelfry.

“We’re open,” the jellyfish stated. Omura finished up writing as quickly as possible, then took a deep breath.

 _This is it!,_ she said excitingly in her head. _My time has finally come!_ Before Sandy could even say anything, Omura raced over to the counter. “Let's get this party started!” Sandy giggled at the girl’s enthusiasm.

“You’ll make a fine addition here.”

-

About two hours passed since the cafe had opened up. Omura was slowly figuring everything out, from how to get coffee, to waiting on tables herself. Sandy was helping her each step of the way, making sure she didn't screw anything up, or give anyone the wrong order. Eventually, the two were able to take a short break, as they satisfied everyone in the cafe.

“You're doing pretty good, Omura! A few slip ups, but way more positives.”

Omura laughed, putting her hand behind her head. “Aww, shucks, Sandy. You’ve been such a good help to me the entire way!”

Sandy blushed. “Thanks!”

As the two continued to talk, a chime went off. Omura turned to the other girl and tilted her head in confusion.

“What's that all about?”

Sandy perked up at another opportunity to be a role model. “Oh! Did I forget get to tell you? I'm sorry.”

“It’s okay! Don’t worry about it,” the ‘inkling’ replied.

“That chime is what we use to know when our shifts change. So now, you get to go to the back room and check supplies and stock.”

“Oh. That's it? What if it rings again? What do I do next?”

Sandy smiled, ‘Don’t worry, Hector has your schedule, he’ll give it to you.”

Omura flashed a smile, “Ok! I’ll get to work right away!” And with a hop skip and a jump, Omura bounced into the kitchen.

She opened the door, almost jumping into Jelfry. “Sorry about that!” she apologized before she got in. Once inside, she immediately noticed how clean it was. _Was it this clean when Sandy showed me earlier?,_ the octoling thought to herself.

She checked all around the kitchen, until she heard some humming coming from the break room. Omura approached the door and popped her head in to see who it was. She saw Hector, who was sitting at a round table in the middle of the room. Books were stacked around him, and he was reading one as well.

“Whatcha doin’?!” Omura asked a little too loudly. Hector jumped hearing the girl shout at him. He almost fell back in his chair, but he was able to catch himself. Hector looked at the girl irritatedly.

“What was that for?” he scolded. Omura recognized her mistake.

“Sorry, sorry, I should have realized you were focusing!” she apologized, dipping into a bow.

She looked back up to Hector, who had since buried himself back in his book. Omura then got a tad curious about the inkling boy, and hoped to spark up a conversation with him. _This is a good time to make new friends and a good impression! Don’t screw it up!_

Omura sneaked up to Hector, but he saw her move behind him. She peeked over his shoulders and asked more calmly, “Whatcha reading?”

“Shouldn’t you be working?” Hector quickly replied, not looking up from the book. “I already finished everything back in the kitchen, jus’ gotta wait ‘til the chime goes off.” The boy did not even steal a glance up from his book.

 _Huh, so he was cleaning everything,_ Omura said in her head. “But whatcha reading? And why read?”

“Boy, you’re insistent. I have to study. I’m applying to this college and I gotta take a bunch of placements and have good grades when they do consider me.”

“So what are you studying now? Can I see?” Hector was surprised that Omura wanted to read with him. He thought she would just move on when she realized he was studying for school.

“Uuuh, sure. I’ll read you a little bit. It’s for chemistry. It’s pretty basic stuff.”

Hector began with a little enthusiasm too, “An important difference between an Ionic bonding and a covalent bond. Ionic bonds are transferring of electrons from an metal element to an non metal element. The metal loses an electron, while the nonmetal gains and electron. As for a covalent bond, electrons share rather than transfer, and-”

The boy was interrupted by Omura, who was snoring over his shoulder. The inkling gave a disappointed sigh. He the poked the girl to wake her up. She slowly blinked her eyes open.

“Huh, what?” she asked sleepily, “Sorry, what were you saying?”

Hector turned back to his book. “I did all the work, so you’re on break.” Omura got off of him in a snap.

“Oh! ‘Kay then!” Omura was about to rush out the door, but she remembered something.

“Oh! Sandy said you had my schedule for me.” Hector then leaned to the side of his chair, and pulled a piece of paper out and wordlessly held it out to Omura. “Thanks!” the girl exclaimed, grabbing the paper from the boy’s hand. She then ran out the door, and back into the Cafe.

Once there, she noticed how empty it was compared to earlier. In fact, all of the customers were gone! Omura looked around to see what the others were doing. She first saw Sandy at the register. She was putting money into it. Omura approached her, and asked, “Where are all the customers?” Sandy looked at Omura through her bangs.

“Oh, it’s always like this on Monday afternoon. Most inklings out at work, and there are no League battles today. So Monday is usually a lazy day.” Omura was surprised.

“I thought I would have been doing more for my first day,” she huffed. Sandy thought for a moment, then getting an idea as she looked around.

“Why don’t you help Jefry clean off the tables? It’ll give you something to do.” Omura nodded excitedly, giving a salute.

”You can count on me!” Omura was about to get to work, but Sandy called her back.

“You’re forgetting something.” She reached under the counter, and pulled out a bucket of cleaning supplies out. Omura raced back to Sandy.

“Heheheh, thanks,” Omura said, slightly embarrassed. She took the bucket, and then raced back to the tables.

Omura approached the first table. Which she noticed was already clean. So was the next one, and the next one, and the next one. She looked around to see if there were even any dirty tables. Luckily for her, there was one table on the far end. _Is that Jellyfish really cleaning all these tables that fast?_

She didn’t ponder for two long, as she immediately got to work, humming to herself. The girl first pulled out a rag and a bottle of a cleaning product she had never seen before. She sprayed the table, but she heard something. She looked up and behind her. She saw Jelfry, who was giving her a bored expression, as he continued to clean the tables. Omura slowly looked away. That was weird, she said in her head.

Omura got back to work, but then heard more sounds. “She turned around again. This time, Jelfry was gone. Confused, Omura looked around to see where he was.

“You done?”

Omura jumped at the sound of the Jellyfish. Once she realized who it was, she calmed down.

“You scared me there!” she cried. Jelfry seemed to ignore Omura’s comment, as he continued anyway.

“I finished. You done?” he asked again, sounding a little more irritated than the first time.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, “Uh, no. I’m almost done though.” Jelfry did not say a word, only nodding as he went back into the kitchen.

The octo-inkling went back to cleaning off the table, which did not take much time at all. She put the rag and bottle back into the bucket and went back to the counter, still bored. After putting the bucket away, she went to sit on one of the stools. She leaned on her arm, giving a heavy sigh.

“You bored, kid?” a relaxed voice said. Omura sat up and turned to Mick, who was looking at her through heavily lidded eyes.

“Oh, uh, yeah. Lazy day, y’know?” she said sheepishly.

“Mm. I feel you,” he almost hummed.

The girl went back to her thoughts. _Ya know… this is a great opportunity to learn about inkling culture! I’ve always wanted to see what was different here from Octo Canyon..._ Omura turned to the urchin, a new glint in her eye.

“What do you do in your free time? I’m _soooo_ bored, so...” Mick gave a sly smile.

“Well, you came to the right urchin,” he said smoothly. “If you ask me, I recommend music. It’s a great way to kill time. Put on a killer tune, and the world just melts around you, man.”

Omura instantly changed her mood. “That’s a great idea!” However, her mood quickly changed again upon another realization. “I left my phone at home…” she pouted. Mick, taking pity on the girl, pulled his phone and earbuds out of his pocket.

“Here, you can borrow mine,” he said, handing both to Omura.

“Oh! Thank you so much, Mick!” she cheered, returning her gleeful attitude once again. Mick grinned back.

“Don’t sweat it, man.”

Omura went through all of the many, many songs Mick had. She had never heard of any of these bands before. She kept getting more and more excited. This guy must be a music connoisseur! “Hmmmm,” Omura pondered, sticking her tongue out.

“Which song do you recommend? I can’t decide.”

Mick thought to himself for a long minute for his answer, tapping his spiky chin. Right when it seemed to Omura that he’d lost it, he spoke up.

“Well, there are a couple good songs in there. Endolphin Surge, Splattack, Seafoam Shanty, Hooked. Dubble Bath is good if you’re looking to chill out.”

“I think I’ll try Hooked. I never heard of it,” Omura decided. Mick‘s grin widened.

“Good choice. Hightide Era is one of my fave bands.”

“I like Turquoise October,” Omura replied, thinking of her music from back home as she scrolled through the countless songs. Mick cocked his head, sounding slightly confused.

“Turquoise October? Never heard of ‘em.”

Omura’s heart sank. _Oh no, I shouldn’t have said that! Why did I open my mouth? Stupid me... now they’re all gonna find out that I’m a-_

Luckily enough, Sandy was able to save Omura unintentionally.

“I heard of them once. They use all synths,” Sandy added, suddenly appearing from behind the counter.

Mick shrugged, “Guess I gotta check ‘em out.”

“You better check it out _later_ rather than sooner,” Sandy replied, flicking one of his urchin spines. “You need to get your work done first.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll get it later. Don’t get your tentacles in a bunch,” he teased back, poking Sandy’s face with a spidery finger. She gave a sigh of disappointment and shrugged, only hoping Mick was being honest.

Omura laughed while giving an internal sigh of relief. _That was a close one,_ she said to herself. _No more of talking about my home._ The girl quickly let go of the fearful thoughts, and came back to reality.

“Ya know,” she said to both the inkling and the urchin. “I think I’m gonna like it here!” She finished her sentence with a big smile. Suddenly, Omura was pulled off the stool and off her feet. She was pulled into another hug from Sandy, this one being much more gentle.

“We’re glad to have you on board, Omura.” The girl returned with a tighter hug, catching the other girl off guard at first. Omura was happy to be with her new friends, and almost never wanted to go home.

-

Omura walked into the door of their small apartment room.

“Hellooo?” she called out. “You home yet, Kobi?” She didn’t have to wait long for a response.

“I’m in the kitchen!”

The octoling went into the small kitchen to see her brother cooking something on the stove, his inkling makeup having already been washed off. Before she could say anything, Kobi ran to her and pulled her into a hug.

“Oh thank goodness, you're ok!”

Omura blushed, “Yeah, I’m fine, big bro. I’m a grown up now, remember?”

“Haha, yeah, I guess you are You’re growing up too fast, Omu. You better wait for me to catch up,” Kobi said as he pulled away. The older octoling then pushed up a chair, offering it to his sister.

“Now, tell me all about it!”


	3. Chapter 3

Omura watched from her stool as a group of four excited, smiling inklings entered the cafe, ink dripping from their boots and weapons in tow. Laughing and chattering among themselves, they plopped down at a booth as shoved their gear under the table. Omura was about to get up, but Jelfry was quick to attend to them, taking their orders just out of earshot. Omura sighed to herself, but Mick, who was working the register at the moment, took notice.

“What’s up, ladybro?”

It took her a moment to break her stare from the happy inklings, mostly because she didn’t recognize the nickname right away.

“Oh, me?” she said, suddenly perking up. “I was just wondering what it’d be like to play Turf Wars,” she sighed.

“What, you never played before?” Mick asked, confused. The octoling cringed, scolding herself in her head. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! Of course all inklings play Turf Wars! Now you’re going to be found out for sure-_

Noticing her sour expression, Mick quickly corrected himself.

“Oh, sorry, haha. It’s okay, Sandy doesn’t do Turf either, it’s a personal thing. Not all inklings do, I didn’t mean to like, assume anything, y’know,” he drawled. Omura quickly shook her head.

“No, no! I-I’ve just... never been allowed to, my big brother always said it’s too dangerous,” she said, which was technically half true.

“Mm,” Mick hummed with an almost unreadable expression. He thought for a good minute, before turning to her again.

“You wanna try ‘em today?”

Omura was surprised at him. How on earth was she supposed to participate in Turf Wars right now? She was already aware that octolings possessed the same inking capabilities as inklings, but for one, she didn’t have a weapon. And two, she was working!

“T-T-Today? Right now?” she spluttered.

“No time like the present, lil dude,” Mick replied, leaning back in his chair and kicking his feet up on the counter. Jelfry shot the urchin an evil glare as he slapped the inklings’ orders on the counter and went off to the break room.

“How would I even do that? As much as I wanna, I still have no weapon or anything,” Omura tried to explain.

“Crabman at Ammo Knights gives out free Juniors to any squidkid who comes through the door,” Mick shot her down. _Free weapons? Inkling culture sure is fascinating,_ Omura thought. Her head was suddenly swarming with newfound excitement. It was really that easy! All she had to do was head out the door and-

Wait.

“But I still have to finish my shift first,” Omura whined, slumping down and squishing her face in her hands. _And if I stayed out extra late to play after, Kobi would be so worried!_ Mick looked around, checking his surroundings before leaning in close.

“Missing a few minutes never hurt nobody.”

Omura gasped, clutching her face in her hands. “Oh, gosh, you mean skipping off? I dunno if I could ever-“

“Chillax, I do it all the time. The only problem is triple threat back there,” Mick said, shooting a thumb back to point at the break room where Sandy, Hector and Jelfry resided. “And ‘sides, if they get on your back, I’ll cover for you,” he offered, winking. As strange as he may seem, Omura decided to put her faith in the urchin for the afternoon.

“Okay!” she called cheerfully as she rose from her seat, “Wish me luck!”

Mick chuckled, waving the girl off as she went to change out of her uniform.

-

“Ammo Knights, was it? Fascinating!” Omura said to herself as she skipped through the plaza. In the end, she had climbed out the bathroom window, which felt unruly. But Mick knew what he was doing. I mean, he seemed like the oldest of the group, and his mannerisms made him seem like a wise sage. It took her a minute, but Omura finally found the place, and pushed through the door to Ammo Knights excitedly.

“Hello, hello!” a strange voice called out to her as she walked in. Omura looked around, her eyes finally catching on a short horseshoe crab in the back of the store. He was a little bit creepy, with oversized goggles magnifying his eyes, and she was totally taken aback. She was about to attempt a small _hi_ , but then she noticed the crab staring her up and down and promptly shut herself up.

“Oh, I think I know what you are.”

Omura’s blood went cold. There was no way he could’ve seen through her disguise, right? Had her eyeliner smudged already? Her head ran wild with all the worst possible outcomes. I mean, they were in a shop surrounded by _weapons_ , for crying out loud!

“A-And what might that be?” she practically squeaked.

The horseshoe crab squinted at her one final time, before his expression brightened in an instant. The contrast was enough to make Omura jump back.

“A new customer! Hello, and welcome to Ammo Knights! My name is Sheldon. And you are?”

“O-Omura,” she finally managed. Were all horseshoe crabs this intimidating?

“Why, I’m so very pleased to meet you, Omura! I’m sure you’ll find everything you need here. So, is this your first time around these parts?” Sheldon asked, talking so fast his words blurred together.

“Yup! Never fought Turf War in my life! Weird for an inkling, right?” she laughed awkwardly. Sheldon responded by giving her a sturdy pat on the back, which was about as high as he could reach anyway.

“Why, not at all! Many young inklings get into battles at your age. There’s always late bloomers, but as they say, better late than never! Now, what do you say we get you a weapon?”

Omura was feeling a bit shaken up. If all inklings had to endure this trial before entering Turf Wars, she was surprised it was such a popular sport. Regardless, she nodded, not giving up on her quest. Pleased, Sheldon led her over to the counter and pulled out two plastic guns from underneath.

“Here we have the ideal weapon for new inklings on the Turf War scene! The Splattershot Jr! With its Splat Bombs and Ink Armor, it’s the perfect weapon for those just starting out,” Sheldon explained, placing the Jr. on the counter in front of Omura. She was just about to pick it up to inspect it further when Sheldon brought out another weapon, cutting her off. It looked identical to the first, save for a starfish sticker on the side.

“And that’s not all! I also have a similar weapon, the Custom Splattershot Jr! It has the exact same stats as the original, but it’s Autobombs can pack a real punch! Combine that with the Ink Storm special, and you’ll be a pro in no time!”

Omura started at the starfish sticker. The sticker stared back. In a flash, she decided that this was the weapon for her. She took it from the counter and smiled.

“So, you’re choosing the Custom model? Extraordinary choice! Now, you get out there and battle it up, and when you come back, I’ll have a brand new weapon ready for you! If you’re willing to pay a little fee, of course, hehe...”

Omura thanked the crab before energetically bounding our the door.

This was a step in the right direction.

-

Mick kicked back, his long legs splayed over the counter in front of him. He laid his spiky head in his hands, not a care in the world. That is until Sandy emerged from the break room, a less than pleased expression on her face.

“Mick, get your shoes off the counter. There’s customers here,” she sighed.

“They don’t care,” Mick replied, winking at a group of inklings gathered off to the side. “And neither do I.”

Sandy pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. “Oh, Mick, please,” she whined. Seeing her genuinely upset, he gave in, cramping his long spidery legs back under the counter.

“Only ‘cause you asked so nicely,” he hummed.

“Great! Now that you’re decent, may I ask you something?” Sandy said innocently. Mick leaned his spiky face in his hands.

“Sure.”

“Where on earth is Omura?”

Mick tensed up, for probably the first time in his life. He honestly hadn’t expected to get this far. But, having promised to cover for Omura already, he wracked his brain for an excuse.

“She’s in the bathroom,” he finally decided. “She’s got a stomachache, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, first day jitters, and all that.”

“Mick, she’s been working here for almost a week,” Sandy sighed, though she was beginning to sound a bit concerned.

“Fourth day jitters?” Mick attempted, hoping to whatever was out there that his voice didn’t give him away.

“I’ll believe you. But I dearly hope you aren’t teaching our new employee to hook off work.”

“Never.” Mick let out an internal sigh of relief.

“Oh, well. You and Omura are on break this shift, anyway. I hope she’ll be done before we switch again.”

Mick only nodded as he made his way to the break room, thinking to himself that he hoped she’d be done before then, too.

-

Omura found the Lobby easily enough, after all, it was topped by the biggest tower in the entirety of Inkopolis Square. She pushed through the doors to see a variety of inklings chatting among themselves, preparing for another battle to start. Suddenly, an inkling boy with combed back green hair looked up and caught her eye.

“Hey!” he called out, “You wanna play with us?”

Omura was unsure what to do with the sudden attention the boy had drawn to her, but in the end was able to return his wave.

“Sure!” she said, joining the green haired boy and the few other inklings. The most notable of the others with him were a pair of purple haired kids, one boy and one girl. The boy sported a backwards cap and energetic grin, while the girl was more reserved, hiding behind a beanie and face mask.

“I’m Grey,” the green haired boy announced, “And these are the twins, Jason, and Jasmine. I just met them today!”

“I’m Omura! Ah, should I mention that this is my first Turf War...?” Surprisingly, Grey perked up at this news.

“Really? I can teach you, then! Man, and I thought I was new... this is gonna be great!” he cheered.

“Me ‘n Jazz will be sure to look out for you two newbies,” the purple haired boy, now known as Jason, teased, giving Grey a pat on the shoulder.

“I’ve never seen an inkling with such red tentacles before,” commented Jasmine, her expression unreadable behind her mask. Omura began to sweat, before Grey unknowingly saved her.

“I have! I once battled a girl with bright red hair, all twisted up wild,” he chimed. “Though, it might’ve been more of a pink...”

“Genetic mutation!” Omura piped in. “My dad has orange, and my mom has pink, so uh...”

Which could be true, for all she knew. She didn’t really know all too much about her parents, having lived with Kobi as long as she could remember. Oh, well. Regardless, she should think things through before trying to sound smart about inkling genetics.

However, Jasmine only shrugged and moved her attention to something on her phone. Omura sighed in relief. Suddenly, a door opened, and the inklings began preparations for battle.

-

Omura was squished into the spawn area with the other three inklings, shoulder to shoulder like a can of sardines. Grey, to the side of her, gave her a nudge.

“Starting soon,” he whispered, “This stage is called Walleye Warehouse. It gets pretty close quarters, so you can stick with me!” He seemed overly eager to teach someone less skilled than him. Before Omura could think, a siren sounded, and her three teammates were off, spreading ink at their feet. Once the others were out of sight, Omura stepped out onto the battlefield. Testing the waters, she reverted to her squid form to- Wait a minute.

 _Of course, I don’t_ have _a squid form!_ , Omura cried in her head. Though, octopus form seemed to work equally well for swimming in ink. Testing her limits, she dove deep into the ink before surfacing, giggling to herself. Oh, well. She would just need to make sure no one saw her when she was swimming. Finally used to the feeling, she made her way through one of the passageways connected to spawn.

She swam up a pre-made trail of ink, courtesy of one of her teammates. The passage came out on a raised platform, where she had a clear view of the chaos going on in the middle. She watched from safety as Grey, using a roller, challenged another inkling, who was too far away to make out. Whatever it was, Grey’s roller didn’t have nearly enough range, and he was taken out. The inkling came forth until she was visible to Omura. She had a pair of pilot goggles pulled over her eyes, and carried a Splattershot Pro. Suddenly, the inkling turned to look Omura head on. The octoling squeaked and jumped back out of sight.

 _Hmm, now might be a good time to use those Autobombs that crab creature talked about,_ she thought from her perch. She chucked one over the edge at her attacker, and much to her surprise, the bomb came to life and chased the inkling away from her hiding place. The inkling gave up and let her be. The bomb wasn’t enough to splat her, but it gave Omura some new confidence. Since her ink was refilled, she jumped out into the battlefield, where she saw one of her teammates fending off the opponents alone. She dived into the fray, shooting wildly with her Splattershot Jr, until the offending inklings were all gone. The teammate, who turned out to be Jasmine, shot her a nod and thumbs up.

“Nice, rookie. Not bad at all,” she praised. Omura grinned. All of a sudden, Jason and Grey came running in from their side of the turf, looking distressed.

“Let me guess. You both ran in and got splatted,” Jasmine sighed, rolling her eyes at the boys’ apologetic expressions.

“Y-Yeah,” Grey huffed, dragging his roller in disappointment.

“Harsh, Jazz,” Jason grumbled, elbowing her in the side once he finally caught up.

“Well, whatever,” Jasmine said, rolling her eyes at her brother’s nickname. “After that little episode, I got my special charged up. Omura, stick behind me.”

“I thought I was gonna mentor her,” Grey whined, puffing out his cheeks.

“You- Okay, you can come too. Jason, you’re on your own.”

Jason was about to protest, when the enemy team respawned at once, and their planning session was cut short. Jason took on a good handful of them with his Ranged Blaster, letting the other three push on with the distraction.

Jasmine led the group behind a large box in the middle. She crouched down and motioned for the two others to do the same. Once all were hidden, Jasmine planted a Squid Beacon on the ground, twirling one of her Dapple Dualies around her finger.

“Now, while they’re all preoccupied with Jason, we can push into their base,” she explained. Grey pulled out his map, looked it over for a moment, and then pointed to an X mark.

“Is that him?” Grey asked worriedly. Jasmine pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, before correcting herself.

“Don’t worry, that was supposed to happen. It’s just that if he’s down, the enemies are going to move onto u-“

She was interrupted by a flurry of inky bullets hitting her in the back of the head, splatting her in a burst of ink. Grey and Omura jumped back as an inkling boy with dark shades wielding a Sploosh-o-matic charged in on them. Omura ducked behind Grey as he and the boy fought it out, roller on shooter. Suddenly, Omura had a flash, and tossed another Autobomb, this time at the boy’s feet. As Ray frantically flicked his roller to keep the enemy inkling at bay, the little bomb waddled underfoot. It locked on and promptly exploded, rendering the other inkling boy a puddle of ink.

“Awesome, Omura!” Grey cheered. He turned to her, and his expression changed. “Omura, look at your hair!”

She did exactly that, and what she saw surprised her. Her hair was glowing in a wild display of colors, and neon ink dripped from every one of her tightly wound tentacles.

“Wh-Whoa!”

“Your special is charged! C’mon, use it, use it!” Grey encouraged, practically bouncing on his feet. “Here, lemme help you...”

He messed around with her ink tank for a moment before pulling out a large chunk of machinery, inspecting it closely.

“Ink Storm, nice! Now chuck it as far as you can!”

Omura obeyed, and with a mighty throw, she sent a giant cloud tumbling into the enemy’s base. Once it was at full mast, tiny bullets of ink rained from the sky like a meteor shower. Grey whooped in the background as Omura pushed forward, breaking into the other team’s base and claiming the turf with her ink.

Suddenly, Jason fell out of the sky like a misshapen firework, landing on top of his sister’s Squid Beacon from earlier and crushing it beneath his feet.

“You miss me?” he said cockily, joining the other two in inking the enemy turf with his Ranged Blaster.

“Woo, Jason! You just missed Omura’s first special move! I’m so proud, honestly,” Grey mused, holding his face in his hands affectionately.

“Aw, man! You must’ve killed it, though, and you said this was your first game?” Jason asked, clapping her on the back once he caught up to her. Omura grinned and nodded. She could get used to this.

“Yeah! This is going way better than _my_ first game, not gonna lie,” Grey giggled, catching up to them as well.

The three moved as a unit, laughing as they went. They made their way back to the middle. _Hm, I haven’t seen anyone from the other team in a while. I wonder what’s up,_  Omura thought. Or that’s what she _would’ve_ thought, if she wasn’t so distracted by her success thus far. This was a piece of cake! She was only brought out of her dreamlike state by a comment from Grey-

“Hey, do you hear something?”

The three of them paused. Behind them was an inkling girl wearing a Firefin mask. When the trio turned around, all they could do was scream and cower together in fear as the heavy shadow of a Dynamo Roller loomed over them.

-

Mick was growing more and more anxious as the minutes ticked on. Without warning, the chime went off, and it was time to switch shifts again. Much to his dismay, Omura was nowhere in sight. He fidgeted in his seat, not daring to get up quite yet. Fumbling with his earbuds, he shoved them into his spiny head as quickly as he could, just in time for Sandy to peek through the break room door.

“It’s switch time! Chop chop,” she ordered sweetly, leaning over the round table. From this angle, Mick could see, even through her heavy bangs, that Sandy had an evil glint in her eye.

“Oh, is it? I didn’t hear,” he lied, gesturing to his still tangled earbuds. “Music ‘n all.”

“Of course,” she hummed. “Now, do you know where Omura is? I believe it’s her turn at the register.” Mick gulped.

“Man, is she still in the bathroom? That kid, I’ll tell you what...”

“You know, it’s funny you say that,” Sandy grinned, “Because I had the bright idea to check on her in there first. And would you like to know what I found?”

Mick nodded shakily. Pleased, Sandy pulled something out from behind her back. It was Omura’s uniform, crumpled and discarded. _No way! The kid isn’t dumb enough to leave her uniform laying around the bathroom floor, is she? Freakin’ nasty!_

“Yeah, uhh, that’s kinda funny, isn’t it,” Mick drawled.

“Yup! It is pretty funny,” Sandy said, cocking her head to the side and smiling. “Because if Omura’s uniform is here, then where is she? I don’t suppose she turned invisible.”

“Funny, huh,” Mick chuckled weakly, scratching his chin.

“So, where is she, Mick? Don’t think I can’t get you in trouble just because I’m younger,” she scolded, leaning up further onto the table.

“I... Uh, um...”

They were cut off by the arrival of Omura. Her tentacles were still wet with ink, her clothes in a similar fashion. She spun her Custom Splattershot Jr. around her finger, eventually dropping it on the floor and giggling as she picked it up. Sandy blinked, dumbfounded, and Mick hid his face in his hands.

“Hi, guys! Did you miss me?” Omura called, slapping her ink-covered hands on the table between them.

“I guess you could say that,” Mick muttered.

“Oh, Omura, there you are! Were you in a Turf War just now?” asked Sandy. Omura sheepishly rubbed the back of her head and stuck out her tongue.

“Heehee... Could you tell?”

“A Turf War during work... Now, what could’ve given you _that_ idea?” she further interrogated, glaring at Mick in the corner of her eye. Omura wasted no time jumping into an explanation.

“Oh, well, earlier, when all those inklings came in after their battle, I got really excited, ‘cause I never tried something like that before, y’know? So then Mick told me-“

She cut herself off, seeing the urchin’s uncharacteristically paniced expression. He drew a finger across his throat to drive home the point.

“-NOT to go try it,” she continued, “‘Cause he... didn’t want to work alone, right? But I just didn’t listen, and did it anyway. I’m sorry, Sandy. And you, too, Mick.” Omura ducked her head and pouted, chewing her bottom lip cutely.

“Oh, Omura, don’t worry! You’re an angel and we’re glad you’re here,” Sandy cooed, grabbing both of Omura’s inky hands in her own and luckily missing Mick’s sigh of relief. “Just don’t do this again. You still have to work, you know! And you too, Mick!”

So, the octoling and the urchin made their way back to the counter, Omura still out of uniform, and got in position once again. With Sandy and the rest safely out of earshot, Mick ruffled Omura’s hair fondly.

“You did good back there. I owe you one, ladybro.”

“‘Course!” Omura chirped, “Though, you said you’d cover for me, but I ended up covering you in the end, hehe...”

“Oh, yeah, how’d your first Turf War go, kid?”

“We failed!” Omura said too cheerfully. Mick chuckled.

“You have fun, though?”

“Of course!”


End file.
